Freezing apparatus



Dec. 20, l932.` A. L. KRoNQuEsT FREEZING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 3. 1931 4Sheets-Sheet l mmmm Ewmmbmwwm w @MPH mu :mwN l N mwN www SNN NN(Kftornegs Dec. 20, 1932. A. L. KRoNQuEsT FREEZING APPARATUS Filed Aug.`s, 19:51' 4 sheets-sheet 2 De@ 20, 1932 A. L. KRoNQuEsT FREEZINGAPPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 QN MVN. NN. mN

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A. L. KRONQUEST FREEZING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 3. 1931 y'4 Sheets-Sheet 4:inventor Gttorncg 5 Patented Dec. 20, 1932 ,UNITED STATES PATENT ALFREDL. KRONQUEST, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 CONTINENTAL CANCOMPANY, INC., 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK FREEZIINGAPPARATUS Application led August 3, 1931. Serial No. 554,861.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in a freezingapparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for freezing productshermetically sealed in metal containers.

AAn object of the invention is to provide a freezing apparatus whereinthe containers are conveyed into a chamber containing a liquidrefrigerant and are positively carried into the liquid and through thesame and finally discharged from the chamber.

A further object of the invention is to provide a freezing apparatus ofthe above character wherein the containers are supported on guide railsduring their travel into and through the apparatus, which contactsolel'y7 with the end and double seam of the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of theabove character wherein there is means associated with the supportingguide rails for preventing the containers from moving endwise orupwardly away from the supporting guide rails so that said containersmay be moved along the guide rails solely by pusher bars.

A stillfurther object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of theabove character wherein endless conveyor chains carrying pusher barsoperate to roll Athe containers along supporting guide rails, first inone direction and then another, through the chamber, and gravity meansis provided for transferring the containers from one unit conveyingmechanism to another.

These and other objects will in part be 0bvious and Will in part behereinafter more fully disclosed.

' In the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment ofthe invention- Figure l is a vertical sectional View through one endportion of an apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. la is a vertical sectional view through the other end portion ofthe apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged View, partly in plan and partly in section at theupper side of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a view partly in end elevation and partly in verticalsect-ion, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view showing one container insection and the means for supporting and guiding the same.

The invention is directed to an apparatus for freezing productscontained in sealed metal containers. The apparatus includes an enclosedcasing, the Walls of which are formed of suitable heat insulatingconstruction. There are manholes provided in the top wall of the casing,giving access to 'the interior thereof, and also an opening throughwhich the containers are led into the chamber of the enclosed casing,and another opening through which they are led out of the cham ber.Extending substantially from one end to the other of the chamber are aseries of conveying units. Each unit includes supporting guide rails forreceiving the containers and along which the containers are rolled. Eachconveying unit also includes a conveyor chain running ,over sprocketwheels at each end of the unit. Each unit has two pairs of guide railsfor simultaneously guiding and directing two lines of containers, andassociated with the guide rails are three conveyor chains, one of whichis located between the lines and the other two at the outside of thelines. Pusher bars are mounted on the chains and spaced so that acontainer may be placed between adjacent pusher bars and contact withonly one of the pusher bars. There are guide rails also associated witheach unit for maintaining the containers on the supporting guide railsand preventing endwise movement thereof. The containers are rolled alongthe guide rails. The chamber is substantially filled with a liquidrefrigerant, and thev containers are held to a fixed line of travelthrough the liquid refrigerant. The containers are fed into the upperunit by can guiding rails and they are delivered from the upper unit toa unit below the same by a gravity feed. At the end of the chamber is anelevator for conveying the containers out of the liquid refrigerant andout of the chamber. The containers are delivered to this elevator by agravity feed.

It is thought the invention will be better understood by a more detaildescription of the illustrated embodiment of the invention.

The apparatus includes a casing which is provided with a bottom wall 1,end walls 2 and 3, side walls 4 and 5, and a top wall 6. The entirecasing is mounted on supporting cross beams 7, 8 and 9. The bottom wall1 inclines from the right-hand end of the chamber, as viewed in Figures1 and 1a, to the left-hand end thereof. There is a pipe 10 leading fromthe chamber at the lower lefthand end thereof. Each of these walls ismade of a suitable heat insulating construction. In the upper wall ofthe casing are manholes closed by suitable doors indicated at 11, 11.

Extending across the chamber from one side wall to the other are anglebars 12, 12.

. These angle bars are riveted to upright supports 12a. Mounted on thelowermost angle bar are supporting and guiding rails for the containers.As shown in Figures 4 and 5, there isa pair of supporting and guidingrails 13, 13 for each line of containers. Each guiding rail has asubstantially horizontal supporting face 14 and an inclined guiding face15. These inclined faces are so disposed as to grip the can and cause itto roll. There are also a pair of upper guiding rails for each lineindicated at 16, 16 in the drawings. These guiding rails are locateddirectly above the container, which is indicated at C in the drawings,and is out of contact with the container when it rests on and rollsalong the guide rails 13, 13. There are also guide bars 17, 17associated with the guide rails 16, 16. The containers C are cylindricaland consist of a body portion c and end portions which are securedthereto indicated by double seaming c', c. This is the usual form ofcontainer for storing or packing food products. The ends arehermetically secured to the body by a double seam. This double seam isformed by a rolling of the metal parts together, and projects laterallyso that when a container is positioned on the support with its axishorizontal, the containers will rest solely on these double seams.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the supporting faces 14 of the rails onwhich the cans run arehorizontal or slightly inclined downwardly, andthe vertical walls are inclined away from each other. This is to -insurethat the inner portions of these supporting and guide rails will not, atany time, contact with the outer face of the body of the container. Thecontainers are usually decorated by lithographing, and it is essentialthat the lithographed decorated surfaces shall be free from rubbingcontact with an part, particularly when traveling throug the liquidrefrigerant. -By my form of supporting and guiding rails, the containeris supported solely by the double seams, and any tendency of thecontainer to float in the -conveyor chain 20".

liquid refrigerant, or move upwardly, brings the double seam intocontact with the rails 16, 16, and any tendency of the container to moveendwise, brings the end of the container at the double seam into contactwith the vertical faces 15, 15 of the lower guide rails.

There may be said to be shown in the drawings three separate conveyorunits built up from these guide rails as described above, with each ofwhich is associated conveyor chains. The supporting and guiding rails13, 13 in all of the units, are mounted on cross angle bars/12, 12. Thesupporting andguiding rails of the lower run of the lower unit areindicated at 13. The supporting and guiding rails of the upper run ofthe lower unit are indicated at 13. The upper guiding rails 16 of thelower run of the lower unit are attached to the supporting and guidingrails 13. Each guide rail 16 has brackets 18 provided with a slot and abolt 19 passing through the slot attaches the guide rail 16 to thesupporting and guiding rail 13. This provides a means whereby the guiderails 16, 16 may be raised and lowered relative to the supporting andguiding rails 13, 1'3 in each" run of the unit. The supporting andguiding rails 13, 13 just described provide the upper and lower runwaysof the lower unit. The containers are caused to travel along theserunways by a conveyor which consists of a sprocket chain 20 running overa sprocket wheel 22a on the shaft 22 at `one end of the casing, and overa sprocket wheel 23 on a shaft 24 Aat the other end of the casing.

As shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, there are two pairs of supportingand guiding railslocated side by side in each unit, so that there aretwo lines of containers. There are three conveyor chains for each unit.The conveyor chain 20 is located adjacent the wall 5; the conveyor chain20 is located adjacent the wall 4, and between the runways is a Attachedto the links of the chain are pusher bars 21. This pusher bar isattached to a link in each of the chains 20, 20 and 20, and operatesupon the containers in both runways. The pusher bar extends above theline of travel of the chain and also below the line of travel of thechain, and is, therefore, positioned so that the longitudinal center ofthe pusher bar is substantially on the line of travel of the chain, andtherefore, the pusher bar will engage the container at a point midwaybetween the side edges of the pusher ba'r and also substantially at themaximum horizontal diameter of the container. There are gu'de rails 21a,215 and 210 associated with each run of the conveyor chain, whichoperate to support the bars in their line of travel between the sprocketwheels carrying the chains. The containers are moved by the conveyorchains from left to right along the upper runway, as indicated by thearrowV in Fig. la, and from right to left along the lower runway, andlikewise indicated by the arrow in .his figure. Directly above thislower unit is a second conveyor unit of similar construction whichincludes supporting and gu'ding rails 13, 13 for the lower run andsupporting and guiding rails 13', 13 for the upper run. There are alsothe upper guide rails 16 and 16 associated therewith and supported in asimilar manner by brackets 18. There are conveyor chains 20, 20 and 20in this intermediate conveyor unit running over sprocket wheels andprovided with pusher bars 21. There is likewise an upper conveying unitsimilarly .constructed to the lower unit and including the supportingand guding rails 13 and 13, also upper guide rails 16 and 16. Associatedwith these guide rails are conveyor chains 20, 20 and 20 carrying pusherbars 21.

The containers are fed into the chamber of the refrigerating apparatusby a container runway 25 consist'ng of supporting and guiding railsalong which the containers are moved. There is an opening 26 in theupper wall of the casing and this container runway extends through thisopening and substantially closes the same. There isa pair of theseconta'ner runways located side by side so that two containers aredelivered at a time between adjacent pusher bars in the upper unit. Theupper runway of the conveyor chains carries the containers along theuppermost runway of the unit from left to right from substantially oneend of the casing to the other end thereof. This casing is substantiallyfilled with a refr'gerating liquid to a height above the upper runway sothat the containers are submerged in the liquid refrigerant. The lowersupporting and guiding rails of the upper runway at the right-hand endthereof is curved about the center of the upper shaft 22, The lowersupporting and guiding rals 13 of the upper unit are curved upwardly asindicated at 27, about the axis of the upper shaft 22 as a center.A Thisforms a continuation of the upper runway for the cans which leads thecans into the lower runway, and the cans are positively conveyed fromthe upper runway to the lower runway of each unit by the pusher bars.The containers are delivered from the upper unt to the unit just belowat the left-hand end of the unit by gravity. The lower supporting andguiding rails 13 are curved downwardly as indicated at 28, and there areguide rails 29 and 30 associated therewith so as to form a dischargerunway so that the containers will drop from between the pusher barsdown into the next lower conveyor unit and between the pusher barstherein. The transfer from the intermediate unit to the lower conveyorunitis of a similar character.

The containers are delivered from the lower conveyor unit to anelevator. The lower supporting. and guiding rails are extended asindicated at 31. These supporting rails incline downwardly. There arevertical guide rails 32 carried by angle bars 34, 34, and also verticalguide rails 35 carried by cross bars 36, 36. These guide rails 32 and35`guide the containers which are supported and lifted by bars 37carried by a conveyor chain 38. These bars 37 are of the ysameconstruction as the pusher bars, but instead of pushing and rolling thecontainers, they support and carry the containers upwardly and outthrough an opening 39 in the upper 'wall of the casing, and finallydeliver the containers on toa runway 40. The conveyor chain passes backthrough an opening 4l into the chamber of the casing. This conveyorchain 38 runs over a sprocket wheel 42 at the lower side of the casing,and over a sprocket wheel 43 at the upper end thereof. There are threeconveyor chains and likewise three sprocket wheels 42, one for eachchain.,

These are mounted on a shaft 44. There are likewise three sprocketwheels 43, one for each chain, and the sprocket wheels are mounted on ashaft 45 carried by suitable brackets mounted on the upper wall of thecasing, and associated with the sprocket chains are suitable housingmembers indicated at 46.

The upper guide rails of the upper conveyor unit are carried by brackets47 similar to the brackets 18, but attached to angle bars 48.

The conveyors are driven by a belt wheel 49 which carries a worm gearmeshing with a worm gear 50. The worm gear 50 is attached to a shaft 51,journaledi in suitable bearings in the side walls of the casing. Thisshaft carries a gear wheel 52 which meshes with a gear wheel on the uper shaft 22 and also meshes with a gear wiieel on the intermediateshaft 22. This will drive the conveyors of the upper and intermediateunits. There is a gear wheel 53 which meshes with a gear wheel on theintermediate shaft 22, and this meshes with a gear wheel on the lowershaft 22 which drives the lower conveyor unit. These driving gears forthe three conveyor units are all disposed within the chamber containingthe refrigerant. The elevator is driven by a suitable geared connectionwith the shaft 24 0f the lower conveyor unit. The ap aratus for freezingis particularly adapted or use in connection with a volatilerefrigerant, and therefore, it includes this substantially enclosedchamber. The containers are preferably provided with a protectingcoating which becomes a permanent part of the container, and which istransparent and impregnable by the refrigerant. The process of freezingcarried out b the present apparatus is described in ful in mycol-pending application Serial N 0.

513,434, filed February 4, 1931. It will be understood, however, thatthis apparatus may be used for carrying out other processes.

The liquid refrigerant is passed into thev chamber of the apparatusthrough the pipe 10 and may be quickly drawn from this chamber throughthis pipe, and this is the reason why the lower wall of the casing isinclined so as to drain all of the liquid from the casing through thispipe 10. It is quite essential when using a volatile refrigerant whichis of an inammable character, such as alcohol, that the refrigerant bedrawn from the refrigerating apparatus for storage when the apparatus isidle. This can be quickly accomplished by opening the pipe 10 whichleads to these storage tanks. As noted above, the chamber of thefreezing apparatus is substantially iilled with the liquid refrigerant.The containers are fed into the chamber and submerged in the liquidrefrigerant and positively rolled along supporting and guiding railstherefor in two lines.

hwise of the container, rolling along their supporting rails andtransferred by gravit from one conveyor` unit to another, until nallythey are delivered to the elevator which carries the containers out ofthe freezing apparatus.

As noted above, a liquid refrigerant of a volatile character ispreferably used. The refrigerant is reduced to the desired temperaturefor freezing by refrigerating coils. These coils are indicated at 54 and55 in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The coils are supported on brackets 54aand 55, respectively, which brackets are attached to the verticalsupports 12a. There is an intake pipe 54b for coils 54, and a similarintake pipe for the coils 55. There is an outlet pipe 54* for the coils54, and an outlet pipe 55c for the coils 55. The inlet and outlet, ofcourse, may be reversed, if desired.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and thearrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I' claim as new and desire tosecure by Let-` l. A freezing apparatus comprising a substantiallyclosed chamber adapted to contain a liquid refrigerant, supporting andguiding rails for cylindrical containers located in sald chamber, meansfor rolling the containers along said supporting and guiding rails whilesubmerged in the liquid refrigerant, means for delivering the containersinto the chamber and on to the supporting rails, and means for elevatingand removing the containers from the chamber, the supporting and guidingrails for the containers having substantially horizontal supporting Theyare conveyed back and forth faces and guiding faces inclining away fromeach other for insuring that the containers will rest and roll on theend seams thereof.

2. A freezing apparatus comprising a substantially closed chamberadapted to contain a liquid refrigerant, supporting and guiding railsfor cylindrical containers located in the chamber, guide rails disposedabove the containers and normally out of contact therewith, means forrolling the containers along said supporting and guiding rails whilesubmerged in the liquid refrigerant, means for delivering the containersinto the chamber and on to the supporting rails, and means for elevatingand removing the containers from the chamber, the supporting and guidingrails for the containers having substantially horizontal supportingfaces and guiding faces inclining away from each other for insuring thatthe containers will rest and roll on the end seams thereof.

3. A freezing apparatus comprising a substantially closed chamberadapted to contain a liquid refrigerant, a series of conveying unitslocated in said chamber one above the other and each includino' upperand lower supporting rails for cylindrical containers, guiding railsassociated with the supporting rails for maintaining the containers incontact with the supporting rails, an endless conveyor in each unit forconveying the containers along the supporting rails and for dischargingthe containers by gravity from one conveying unit to another, means fordelivering the containers into the chamber and on to the supportingrails, and means for re`- ceiving the containers from the lowermost unitfor elevating and removing the containers from the chambers.

4. A freezing apparatus comprising a substantially closed chamberadapted to contain a liquid refrigerant, a series of conveying unitslocated in said chamber one above the other and each including upper andlower supporting rails 'for cylindrical containers, guiding railsassociated with the supporting rails for maintaining the containers incontact with the supporting rails, an endless conveyor in'each unit forconveying the containers along the supporting rails and for dischargingthe containers by gravity from one conveying unit to another, means fordelivering the containers into the chamber and on to the supportingrails, means for receiving the containers from the lowermost unit forelevating and removing the containers from the chambers, said endlessconveyors including traveling chains, and cross bars, which cross barsextend between the containers and move in a path between the supportingrails and the guide rails.

In testimony whereof. I affix my signature.

